


Bluebird of Happiness

by Animebookcat



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 05:10:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15478365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animebookcat/pseuds/Animebookcat
Summary: Natsume and Tsumugi explore the meaning of happiness.





	Bluebird of Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic was heavily inspired by Maeterlinck's Blue Bird, specifically how it was presented in Zero Escape. This might be spoilery if you intend to play the game? But honestly it's not TOO IMPORTANT (I think) 
> 
> This is my first fanfic so I hope everyone enjoys it :3

Natsume had a scowl on his face as he walked briskly to the library. His Senpai hadn't come to practice yesterday, and the costumes he was supposed to make, were supposed to have been shown to Natsume a week ago! 

Yet, Natsume hadn't seen his good-for-nothing Senpai around the school for days, and when he finally had no choice but to take the time and effort to go to his Senpai's class, he wasn't even there at all!

"Ah~ Tsumugi-chin? He rushed off to the library right after class ended~ He was in quite a panic now that I think about it, though I suppose that's normal for him? Glasses slipping, hair ruffled and all~" The yellow haired bunny girl- eh, Nazuna-senpai, if he recalled, had replied cheerfully to Natsume's question. 

So the library, huh?

And so Natsume was at the library doors, scowling as he squinted, searching for the messy blue locks of his Senpai's hair. Giving up, he sighed and walked in.

"SenpAI?" Natsume called out into the seemingly empty library, as his voice bounced off the books and echoed back to him. 

He heard a small yelp and the sound of a book dropping to the floor. This made Natsume unconsciously let out another sigh, and he walked in the direction of the sound.

"A-ah...Natsume-kun. Were you looking for me?"

Natsume looked down at the pile of limbs on the floor, with a single book at its side. He glanced dismissively at it. 

"The Bluebird" announced the golden cursive letters on the cover of the book. It was a rather thick book, with yellowed and wrinkled pages clamped between a blue hardcover.

"So you were here skiving oFF, readiNG, when you were supposed to be at practiCE?" Natsume muttered, in a harsher tone than his usual, making Tsumugi flinch slightly.

"Ahh I'm so sorry! I had library duty, and there were just so many books to clear...I completely forgot we had practice! Uuu... I wish I wasn't the only member of the library committee...luckily the student council is taking over next year...but then again I won't even be in school anymore?" Tsumugi replied flusteredly, before unconsciously dawdling on about other matters completely, pissing Natsume off, again. 

He bent down, picked up the book, and whacked Tsumugi on the head with it.

"Ah- that hurts...Natsume-kun I understand your anger towards me, but please don't damage the library books~ I'll have to pay for them if they are damaged, and I fear I'm not exactly in the best financial circumstance to do so..." Tsumugi pressed a hand to where his head hurt most, and used the other to gently take the book back from Natsume. 

"Besides, it would be a shame if this book got damaged...I am quite fond of it~" Tsumugi let out a small smile, happily hugging the book.

"Oh? Something that actually holds value to SenpAI? What could be so interestinG about this particular boOK?" Natsume asked, with a tone of sarcasm, which obviously did not get through to Tsumugi.

"Ah, is Natsume-kun interested in The Bluebird, perhaps?" Tsumugi's eyes were twinkling in excitement, and that excited childlike look on his face made Natsume find it hard to say no. Before he could however, Tsumugi continued. 

"The Bluebird follows the adventure of two siblings, Tyltyl and Mytyl. They have been tasked to find the Bluebird of Happiness, and so they overcame various challenges and obstacles to find it~"

Bluebird of Happiness? Those words rang like a siren in Natsume's mind. Why did they seem so familiar?

"So did they find it in the enD?" Natsume asked out of courtesy, and perhaps he was a little curious, not that he would admit it.

"Hmm...saying would be spoiling you though!" Tsumugi teased with a grin, which led to Natsume slapping his face wordlessly.

"Uwah...why does Natsume-kun always pick on me...Oh well, I suppose if you're that eager to know..." Tsumugi was obviously displeased that he was going to spoil the book for Natsume, but he continued anyway.

"Unfortunately, they couldn't find the Bluebird of Happiness in the end, so they went home empty handed. But when they woke up the next morning, they found that the Bluebird was in a birdcage, beside their beds, all along~" Tsumugi concluded with a smile, but for some reason, Natsume thought it seemed rather...sad...

Wait...Bluebird of Happiness? Wasn't that...what the horrible _Emperor_ had called Tsumugi in the past? 

Natsume felt a scowl grow on his face and tasted bile rising up his throat, he hated how much pain that demon had caused his brothers, and he simply detested how his Senpai still got so upset over him. He wished he could cast a spell on Tsumugi to make all those painful memories go away. It wasn't fair for him to have gone through so much…

"N-Natsume-kun...? Did you not like the ending? You don't seem very happy. Come on, smile~ Your smiles are beautiful Natsume-kun, so you should smile more~" Tsumugi hummed cheerfully, reaching out to pull Natsume's cheeks up.

Natsume lightly swatted the hands away dismissively. "No...the ending was...sufficienT. And I suppose the moral of the stoRY, is that happiness can be fouND closer than you thinK? Tch. CheeSY, but not a bad endinG, I supposE" 

He was still upset over the irony that the Bluebird of Happiness would cause so much _un_ happiness to his Senpai. 

"Ah...yes... You would think that wouldn't you~?" Tsumugi's voice suddenly became strained, and his usual cheerfulness felt much more forced than usual.

Natsume raised an eyebrow, "What do you meAN?"

Tsumugi's melancholic smile was enough to make Natsume's heart waver. "N-Never minD.." 

He tried to steer the conversation away, but Tsumugi continued.

"You see, they removed an important part of the story from the version we see now. And...it changed the meaning completely...

In the original The Bluebird, when Tyltyl and Mytyl opened the birdcage to feed the Bluebird of Happiness, it flew away."

Stop...Senpai...you don't have to say anymore...

"So, the true moral of the story then becomes, just when you think that you have a hold on happiness, it will slip right through your fingers." 

Tsumugi's face was once again plastered with his practised smile, but his pain shone through his eyes in bright shimmers of teardrops. 

"I was once Eichi-kun's Bluebird of Happiness, you know? Haha...I wonder what meaning he had in mind for me. That we would find happiness closer than we thought, or that just when we were about to reach that happiness, it would be taken from us." 

Tsumugi's wistful voice, once bearing the weight of all of his emotional burden, collapsed. 

"Natsume-kun...I-I don't know anymore...can you tell me?" Tsumugi's voice cracked, every word he wrenched out of his throat seemed to inflict even more pain, yet his eyes yearned for some reassurance, for a little comfort, for happiness.

Natsume couldn't take it anymore.

"Senpai...what happened in the past should be forgottEN. I don't caRE, what Eichi Tenshouin called yOU, and what he meant by iT. All I knoW, is that we are in Switch noW. You, and I, and Sora. What does it matter if happiness escapes between our fingeRS? We will continue searching for it, with all our magic, while also spreading happiness to those around us." 

Natsume looked squarely into Tsumugi's glassy eyes. Those eyes that used to be broken and empty, now, they could feel emotion. Natsume smiled as he gently wiped away his Senpai's tears. 

"SenpAI, you aren't Tyltyl or Mytyl, searching for happiness, you _are_ the Bluebird of Happiness, _my_ Bluebird of Happiness, and we will continue spreading happiness to the worlD, just as you have done for me, and just as I wish to do the same for you."

Tears were running down Tsumugi's cheeks, yet the smile on his face held a sense of genuinity and determination. 

"Y-yes...Natsume-kun is right...the past has already gone up in ashes and been blown away to the sky. We are no longer restrained by the bars of this cage. We can fly free, and spread happiness to the world. For we magicians, in our search for happiness, have already found it, right here, where we belong~”


End file.
